“I grew up on three different continents: Africa, Europe, and North America. My global childhood exposed me to various cultures and made me feel at home with strangers. Now, I know how to create community wherever I go.

After law school, I was living in the U.S. and was about to become a licensed attorney. The only thing that stood in my way was 50 hours of pro bono work. A friend suggested that I volunteer at Open Door Legal– I decided to give it a shot.

On my first day, Adrian told me about his journey to start ODL. He dropped everything and moved across the country to build an entirely new kind of legal aid organization. I was inspired.

When I first began working at ODL I was nervous. I didn’t know much about Bayview, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to make a home here. Thankfully, the community welcomed me with open arms. Clients invited me over for meals and introduced me to their families. I was shocked by how comfortable I felt.

In six short weeks, I completed my 50 hours of work– but I wasn’t done with ODL yet. I stayed for three more years, during which I created our estate planning program from scratch.

Estate planning is all about finding ways to pass on what you’ve built in your lifetime to your loved ones. I no longer work at Open Door Legal, but I am so grateful to know that the connections I made with clients and the programs I helped found will continue to grow and shape the community.”

Photography © Dale Tan